6 Productivity Skills for Cortana and Alexa

July 19, 2017

6 Productivity Skills for Cortana and Alexa

One of the biggest reasons people have for purchasing something like Cortana or Alexa is to have a virtual personal assistant help become more productive. These devices have been custom made for people who need to be able to get more accomplished during the day, especially for those who have too much to do. There are many ways that devices like Cortana and Alexa can help you cut corners and save time, but there are some that are better than others.

1. Knowmail for Cortana

Knowmail for Cortana helps you to figure out which of your emails are urgent and really matter, helping you be more productive at work and while on-the-go – no matter which device you use. You connect to an Office 365 account and Knowmail learns your communication habits to show you only your most urgent of emails, right in the Cortana canvas or by a reactive voice experience.

2. Leave a Voice Message

Use the Bulletin Board Skill on Alexa to leave voice messages for other people in your office or your household. This is extremely helpful if you have a lot of moving parts and can’t always sync up to discuss what needs to be done and what has been completed. You can ask Alexa to leave a message for a certain person – and then when they ask for their messages, they will get them. The best part is that you can go into detail.

3. TalkLocal

This is an especially helpful tool for those who work with a lot of buildings or run maintenance. TalkLocal helps you to compare different services in your local area, based on reviews, analytics, social media, and other preferences. Then, TalkLocal will immediately notify them of your service needs, they will respond, and you can set up an appointment.

In order to set this up, all you need is a phone number and zip code. You’ll be able to change your preferences based on what you like over time.

4. Stock Updates

If you are at all involved in the stock market, continuing to check the markets all day long can be stressful and really add up over time. You can use Alexa to check the market summaries from all of the different charts, including S&P 500, DJIA, NASDAQ, and NYSE.

This is all possible by adding integrations like CNBC, Stock Exchange, or Bloomberg Market Data. You’ll have to curtail how you ask for each different one.

5. SkyScanner

If you need to know whether or not your flight (or someone else’s flight) is on time, but don’t have time to go through all of the input and output of data by other traditional apps, SkyScanner Cortana will be able to help you. All you have to do is ask it to Open Skyscanner and then question the status of the flight.

You can also use these features to set up a notification about flight times, figure out when the best time to fly is, and ask about any possible delays at the airport as well as in the air. You can even start budgeting your next dream trip using this app (enabling location is required).

This is certainly a must have for those who consistently need to pick up clients and friends at the airport. It will help you to stay on track and ensure that you’re never late.

6. Brainstorming

Not really great at coming up with new ideas? Alexa has a tool that will help you to find something fresh and exciting without having to take up too much of your time. The Giant Spoon skill helps you to figure out something that is troubling you with some great ideas or by getting your creative juices flowing.

Sometimes even just enabling the device to give you some ideas will help you with being more creative and thinking outside the box, especially when pressed for time.

No matter what you do during the day, having a productivity tool like Cortana or Alexa will certainly help you to accomplish whatever it is that you need to do – or at least take care of some of the little stuff so that you can focus on what really matters to you.